Guy, Trevathan selected in NFL Draft's sixth round

Winston Guy and Danny Trevathan spent their entire senior seasons as Kentucky Wildcats alongside one another, flying to the football and leading the Southeastern Conference in tackles.

Fittingly, the two heard their names called just a few minutes apart in the 2012 NFL Draft. Guy and Trevathan were each selected in the sixth round of the draft, with Guy going to the Seattle Seahawks at 181st overall and Trevathan seven picks later to the Denver Broncos.

A year ago at this time, Guy was making the transition from safety to a hybrid role in Rick Minter's new Kentucky defense. He wasn't sure what implications the move would have on his professional future and whether it would prove beneficial to him and the team.

After an extremely productive senior season and now a selection in the NFL Draft, it's safe to say the change paid off. The 6-foot-1, 218-pounder made 120 tackles in 2011 and was the 14th safety selected in the draft. The Seahawks currently have four safeties on their roster, including Pro Bowler Earl Thomas. He will head to the Pacific Northwest looking to sustain the productivity of his final UK season, during which he made 120 tackles.

"He's very big and athletic," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said. "They moved him around a lot. He was not a true safety. He was basically a hybrid linebacker/safety combo...For a kid his size, runs pretty well, can cover the field, very long arms."

Trevathan was the only player in the SEC to top Guy in tackles, dominating from start to finish in 2011. He finished with 143 tackles, 11.5 of which came behind the line of scrimmage. He also had a team-leading five forced fumbles, three sacks and four interceptions.

"Trevathan's a guy that has pretty good speed," Kiper said. "They like the way he sifts through traffic, that's one thing about Danny Trevathan...He has this knack for just showing up where the ball carrier is, made a lot of impact plays during his career."

The 6-foot, 237 pounder joins a growing list of former Wildcats in Denver. Anthony "Champ" Kelly is in the team's personnel department while tight end Jacob Tamme, defensive end Jeremy Jarmon and linebacker Wesley Woodyard are on the roster.

Woodyard actually has a similar story to Trevathan in that he was extremely productive at Kentucky but saw his draft stock suffer due to less than prototypical size for his position. Woodyard signed as a free agent out of UK and carved out a role with the Broncos, first as a special teams player, then on defense.

"I think our football characteristics are similar and I strive to be like him," Trevathan said of his UK predecessor.